tain mercy?' And so I say to ye all, let this old man dwell
among ye in peace, for death is near to him, and shame will be thine if
ye deny to him his right to die on his own land, of which ye have robbed
him."

The teacher sprang to his feet, his dark eyes blazing with passion.

"There shall be no mercy shown to Katolikos; for they are of hell and
the devil and his works!" and from the people there came a deep growl
of approval, which changed into a savage hissing as Macpherson rose and
stretched out his hand.

"Let me speak," he said.

"No," shouted the teacher. "Who are _you?_ You are a bad man, you
are----"

Packenham made two strides over to Lilo and placed his heavy hand on his
shoulder--"Sit down, you damned little psalm-singing kanaka hog, or I'll
knock your eye out. He _shall_ speak."

"Get thee hence, thou shielder of the devil's children," said a young,
fat deacon, walking up to the trader and spitting contemptuously at his
feet. "We want no such white men as thee among us here in Maduro." In
an instant Macpherson struck him between the eyes and sent him flying
backwards among his fellow-deacons. Then came an angry roar from the
people.

The trader turned to Packenham with a groan, "I'm a ruined man now,
Captain Packenham, and all through this auld fule of a Papist." Then he
again tried to speak amidst the uproar.

"Sit down, damn you," said Denison, the supercargo, "and don't excite
them any more. They're ready for any mischief now. Oh, you she-devil,"
and he darted into the middle of the room towards Rime and his
grand-daughter. A stout muscular girl had torn the child's arms from the
old man's waist, and was beating her savagely in the face with clenched
fists. Denison gave her an under-clip on the jaw and sent her down, and
in a few seconds the old man and child were the centre of a struggling
group--the white men hitting out right and left to save them from being
murdered. The teacher's wife, a tall, graceful young woman--with
whom Denison had been exchanging surreptitious glances a few minutes
before--weeping copiously the while, aided them by belabouring the backs
of the women who were endeavouring to get at the prostrate figure of the
little girl. But Packenham, Macpherson, and the supercargo were too much
for the natives, and soon cleared a space around them.

"Take them to the ship, Captain Packenham," said the teacher's wife
pantingly, in English. "These people are mad now. Go--go at onc